Pacquiao and Mayweather – an opportunity squandered now, a reputation damaged forever

Unfortunately, boxing fans will not see Floyd Mayweather on this podium with Manny Pacquiao, as Mayweather will instead take on Paulie Malignaggi on March 13. While both fighters have tried to spin the fight's demise as the other's fault, there's plenty of blame to go around for each of them.

Thank you so much, gentleman. The sad part regarding the uncontrollable egos of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather (and their camps) run amok is that it didn’t just lead to the cancellation of an important fight; the sport of boxing is used to that. What it has led to is the denial of something far more rare: A chance for boxing to reenter the public consciousness, if for only a time. This would have been a chance for mainstream media outlets to temporarily turn their attention away from the MMA, NFL or even the Tiger Woods Bimbo Of the Month Club to focus on the Sweet Science. Yes, on boxing! Really! This also would have been a chance for fight fans to have an event to remember for the ages, a “Do you remember where you were?” moment when the two best pound-for-pound fighters went at it in their primes. It’s funny, actually; had they fought, the excitement would focus around who would lose. When this fight became null and void, it made losers out of everyone.

Various boxing scribes and talking heads will tell you that the fans were the ones who lost, that it’s a blow to boxing that will take a long time from which to heal. There is truth to that. As mainstream media indifference rears its ugly head because they don’t care two bits about Pac-Man fighting Joshua Clottey, as the mantra of Boxing Can’t Get Out Of Its Own Way is chanted time after time by these people, the boxing world will be forced to lament what could have been. But boxing will survive with more great fights (see Berto-Mosley) and more great events, like it always has. While that same mainstream media will blame boxing for this latest debacle, the boxing public knows better. That’s where Pacquiao and Mayweather are in for a very rude awakening.

First off, all Mayweather’s demands of Pacquiao come off as a guy who really doesn’t want to fight unless he has all the advantages. He came in heavy for his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, who was a lighter weight fighter, anyway. Floyd also has a recent track record of fighting guys lighter than he is or, if they are equal in weight, will be a safer touch. He has an undefeated record that he doesn’t want to lose. Now he wants special blood testing. Fine. Maybe Floyd really did have a legitimate concern, but all this smacks of to many is Floyd having a big out should the fight not happen. Now Floyd can go around and tell everyone that he wanted to fight, but Pacquiao just wouldn’t, as if the Filipino was afraid of him or something. What Mayweather’s proven with this whole situation is that while being an incredible talent in the ring, he has no heart or guts outside of it. Mayweather will get to Canestota, New York, one day, but will anyone put him in the same category as Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson or Roberto Duran? No way. Those guys didn’t duck people nor waste anyone’s time trying to protect some mythical undefeated legacy. The greatest fighters are that way because they overcome adversity; Mayweather is determined never to face it. Whether actually true or not, the spectre that Mayweather is afraid to fight Pacquiao will continue to gain more traction, even as Floyd continues to scoff at the notion.

Pacquiao, by contrast, had the most to lose, and lost it. Yes, he will always be beloved by the Filipino fans and their throng. Yes, he will always be an exciting, breathtaking fighter to watch. But will he be thought of fondly as a gladiator like Marvin Hagler or Thomas Hearns now? Hardly. He has destroyed all that. His petulant response to Mayweather’s demands exposed his absolute lack of awareness of the event or what it means to boxing. Pacquiao couldn’t even be bothered to be in the U.S. as the biggest fight he will likely ever have circled the drain. At least with Mayweather, you knew he cared more about himself than anything else; with Manny, everyone expected more. Instead of being the warrior that would say damn the torpedoes, take the stupid blood test, and kick Mayweather’s pompous ass around the ring, Pacquiao instead chose to file a lawsuit. Never mind that no one before or after had seriously questioned whether Pacquiao was clean or not, or that taking these blood tests would have proven Mayweather to be the pompous loudmouth that he is (and more defense for his suit, anyway). No, instead, it was all about MANNY being pissed off, and if MANNY’S pissed, then, well, there’s not going to be any fight. The big, bad Mayweather has said something not nice, so it’s time to screw all boxing fans while we sue that meany! All this does is make people wonder if Pacquiao really does have something to hide, not the opposite.

To a boxing fan’s trained eye, all this whole matter did was expose both fighters for the egotistical divas that they are. Maybe this was expected to a degree from Floyd, but startling was the revelation that the friendly, smiling, Manny-of-the-World Pacquiao could be so petulant and thin-skinned. Since both men have come out with statements apologizing to the fans and blaming the other guy (I confess – it’s his fault!), it’s clear that neither of them truly get it at all. No fight fan, unless they are a die-hard apologist of either fighter, is going to take a side. They have enough blame to put on both men. Boxing is used to having it’s reputation hit; what’s happened here is that the reputations of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have been irreconcilably damaged.

So, on March 13, both fighters will be in separate fights in separate venues against separate opponents that no one will be really excited about. Maybe Tommy Hearns or Marvin Hagler will be at one of the arenas. If so, there will likely be hands shaken, pictures taken and congratulations on those three great rounds in ‘85 that we’ve remembered for so many years. And maybe, as the action goes on in the ring, someone in the stands will have a hard time envisioning Hagler and Hearns calling off their incredible fight by letting their egos trump their greatness. Too bad the same can’t be said for Mayweather and Pacquiao. Here’s hoping they eventually get it done so that this debacle doesn’t burden their legacies forever.

The Boxing Truth

While the Pacquiao-Mayweather tilt may appear to be on the ropes now, a little less hipocracy from Mayweather and a little thicker skin from Pac-Man would save this fight. Both parties need to acknowledge the Truth.

The Truth? During the holiday season? Yes, friends, so close to the time we all fib to our kids that there’s a man in a red suit flying in a sleigh driven by reindeer dropping off presents to them, it’s time for a little levity. We need to get a little serious as we dive into our egg nog, which may or may not be spiced with some liquid Truth of its own. With all the spin and hot air flowing around the Sweet Science, it’s time to sort through the hype. Here are some pre-Christmas harsh realities of the fistic world:

Truth #1: Floyd Mayweather and his father having any concerns about another fighter’s use of illegal drugs is laughable.

It looks a whole lot like Floyd, Sr. forgot where he was for three years in the early 90’s. That would be in jail for smuggling cocaine into the U.S. Yes, in case everyone’s forgotten, he’s a convicted felon. Not only that, his brother (and Floyd Jr.’s uncle) Roger Mayweather may not be able to train Floyd for his showdown with Pac-Man because may be in the clink himself for allegedly choking and battering a female fighter earlier this year. And everyone’s taking the allegations of these guys seriously? Also keep in mind that Floyd, Jr.’s assertions of wanting this Olympic-style drug testing for fairness reasons comes from a guy that didn’t bother to make weight for his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, where he came in two pounds heavy in a fight in which he already had a distinct size advantage. How fair was that to Marquez? “Practice what you preach” is not a credo that the Mayweather clan subscribes to, and hasn’t for some time.

Truth #2: Manny Pacquiao needs to grow up a little bit.

All of this hubbub could have been avoided, however, if Pacquiao and his camp pointed any of this out to the relatively clueless mainstream media. Boxing scribes and fans already know to take a Mayweather statement with a grain of salt; however, since this fight has already garnered a great deal of international media attention (which actually is a good thing), a lot of what has been alleged about Pacquiao has been given gravitas it doesn’t deserve. Manny and his camp should know this, but instead, they’ve been acting overly offended and defensive about the whole matter. Pacquiao’s now calling the fight off one minute, threatening to sue Mayweather the next, screaming about how his image has been tarnished, etc. Instead of being so petulant, Manny needs to realize that he’s being called a cheat by a group of people who don’t have any credibility in the first place. How Pacquiao’s reacting is likely exactly how the Mayweather camp wanted him to; it’s like a little brother who tries to needle you a hundred different ways so one will eventually get to you. Pacquiao needs to understand that they’ll only get into his head if he lets them, and he’s definitely letting them.

Truth #3: The fight will still get made.

Does anyone really think, with a likely figure of $200 million to be made on this blockbuster bout, that this fight won’t get made? Please. Everyone has been wringing their hands all week about weather Boxing’s Biggest Fight Ever might be in doubt, as if this was some Pavlik-Williams bout that might be in jeopardy. Floyd might be full of it most of the time, but he’s not stupid, and neither is Golden Boy Promotions or Bob Arum at Top Rank. While boxing fans like to think that this fight needs to be made solely to help bring boxing back to the mainstream (if only for a time), the reality is different. In Truth, there will be so much money floating around for everyone from the promoter to the street vendor, all concerned have too much green to lose not to make the fight happen. The only wildcard in this situation may be Pacquiao himself, who gives away so much of his money already that it may not be the determining factor for him in deciding whether or not to take the fight. Either way, come hell or high water, this fight will get made.

Truth #4: Gus Johnson needs to go. He’s terrible.

For all of us NFL fans out there who’ve had to suffer through torturous NFL games with Johnson as the lead commentator, we already knew what was going to happen when Showtime hired him for their Showtime Championship Boxing series. It’s not that Johnson doesn’t know either game. It’s not that Gus doesn’t make sense or can’t get his point across. It’s just that HE SHOUTS AT DAMN NEAR EVERTHING THAT HAPPENS!!!! And that’s not to be mistaken for enthusiasm. Joe Tessitore has enthusiasm. When he gets excited during Friday Night Fights, he pulls the viewer, Teddy Atlas, and half of the arena crowd right into the action. When Gus gets excited, we’re with him at first, but by the 50th time he does it within 12 rounds, our nerves are frazzled. He’s excruciating to listen to because of that. Half the time when something significant actually does happen in the fight, no one knows if it’s legit because they’ve heard Johnson lose it so many times prior to that moment. During the Timothy Bradley-Lamont Peterson fight earlier this month, Gus must have had Peterson almost knocked out about ten different times, which was not anywhere close to the case. Boxing fans need commentators who can be their eyes and ears from the arena, and if those commentators can’t tell the difference between a good punch and a fight-ending one, then it’s time to get someone new. I hate to say this about a fellow Michigander like Johnson (who really is a good guy by all accounts), but Steve Albert needs to be reinstated to full-time duty yesterday.

Truth #5: Russ Anber’s treatment of Jean Pascal’s shoulder in his fight with Adrian Diaconu was nothing short of disgraceful.

Yes, Russ Anber is Canada’s Mr. Boxing, writes an excellent column for tsn.ca, and has helped promote the sport in North America. But his actions as chief second and subsequent column about Pascal’s recent win over Diaconu to retain his 168-pound title were head-scratching. Pascal separated his shoulder no less than three times during the fight, with the final time in round ten being so bad that he was literally slumped over to one side when he came back to the corner. Both Anber and head trainer Marc Ramsey, rather than saying that the third time’s enough, actually helped pop the shoulder back into place in the corner so Pascal could continue, which Pascal did, primarily with one hand. Yes, Pascal won the fight, but it was revealed afterwards that the super middleweight titleist had a bone fragment loose in his shoulder, which eventually required surgery on his labrum. While the surgery was a success, the question has to be asked: Would that have been necessary had the corner stopped the fight when the injury became apparent? And why wasn’t this even talked about in the media post-fight? Anber then wrote a blog on tsn.ca talking about Pascal’s heart and toughness in gutting out a victory, as if he had no say how any of it had played out. Nowhere in the column was it mentioned that there was any concern for Pascal’s safety or long-term health, just that his shoulder made its way back into the socket. Somehow, it’s hart to envision Teddy Atlas or Freddie Roach pushing a fighter out of his corner who had separated his shoulder that many times. As it is, Pascal is now out of action for two to three more months before he can begin training. It’s tough to know for sure, but given the different types of shoulder injuries due to separations by athletes over the years, Pascal looks to have gotten off lightly. Perhaps Anber should remember that the next time one of his fighters is injured in the ring.

…and that’s the Truth. Have a happy New Year!

The Finito Five 12/9/09

Koki Kameda pounds at the flattest nose in the history of boxing belonging to Daisuke Naito during their flyweight superfight. Unfortunately, Naito couldn't pound some manners into Kameda despite repeated attempts.

Spreading more merriment than jolly ‘ol St. Nick, it’s the Finito Five!

1. Danny Green lays the TNT on Roy Jones and B-Hop

It’s truly amazing how fate can step into a boxing ring sometimes. For years, since their 1993 snoozer of a fight, Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins have been talking about fighting each other, especially after Hopkins joined Jones on the pound-for-pound list back in the late 1990’s. After Hopkins dismantled Felix Trinidad in 2001, both fighters were in their primes, and boxing fans were demanding a rematch. The only problem was that Hopkins and Jones were doing a whole lot of talking and not enough negotiating. While Jones, like he always did in those days, talked about being the main attraction and getting main attraction money, Hopkins took his usual “I won’t be screwed by the boxing establishment” tack, essentially not giving in to any of the demands of Team Jones. As a result, nothing happened for years until recently, when a shaky 40-year old Jones and a 45-year old Hopkins (who’s still on most pound-for-pound lists for some reason) decided that early 2010 was the time. The only obstacle? Jones had to defeat cruiserweight Danny Green in Australia Wednesday, while Hopkins had to get past tough Enrique Ornelas at 175-pounds in the United States the same night. This Finito space had intended to be about how relevant the fight was going to be so many years after the first one had taken place, especially regarding how shot Jones was after more than a few KO losses this decade.

Well, thanks to Danny Green, none of that matters now, as he completely wiped out Jones inside of a round, upsetting the proverbial apple cart. If there was any debate about Jones being done, there should be none whatsoever now. Green, who is decent, but couldn’t hang even a little bit with a 2000 version of Jones, cracked Roy with one right hand about 75 seconds in, and it was essentially over. All credit to Green for getting it done, but Jones clearly can’t take a solid punch any more. While Hopkins did pound out a workmanlike decision over Ornelas for his part, it’s now time for B-Hop to face someone like Green or Tomasz Adamek, which would be much more compelling. For Jones, here’s hoping he decides to retire until getting that Hall Of Fame call from Canestota in 2015.

2. A little objectivity, anyone?

Many a boxing fan has had issues with the commentary of the HBO broadcast team of Lampley-Merchant-Steward or the Sky Sports team of Adam Smith and Jim Watt from time to time, even though both teams are the sport’s standard bearers. However, if you think they’re so bad, try the Australian Foxtel-TV trio of Andy Raymond, Barry Michael and Paul Briggs, who called the Jones-Green fight Wednesday. Among the gems heard during the fight:
Raymond, after Jones was knocked down: “When you beat a legend, you become a legend, and Danny Green is on the verge of history!”
Raymond, after Green won: “Danny Green has conquered Australia and the world!”
Michael, during the wrap-up: “This is the greatest win in the history of Australian boxing.”
Huh? Seriously? First off, just because you beat a legend that was in his prime ten years ago doesn’t make you as great as he was. By that logic, you should be able to go to Berrien Springs, Michigan and kick Muhammad Ali’s ass and call yourself the Greatest. Secondly, how did Green conquer Australia exactly by beating a dude from Florida? Doesn’t the fact that Green already lost to Anthony Mundine, a fellow Aussie, mean that Mundine should be the best Down Under, at the very least? And if Green’s is the greatest win in the history of the country, I guess all the wins that Jeff Fenech and Kostya Tszyu have over Hall Of Famers during their careers don’t mean so much, eh? Sounds like someone should test Foxtel’s boys for hyperbolic steroid use!

3. The battle of Japan reaches its anticlimax

What many sportswriters in the United States still can’t understand is how boxing can still grip a nation when it’s not theirs. When Tomasz Adamek-Andrew Golota puts a nation (Poland) on hold for an entire afternoon, it’s still an important statement on the hold the Sweet Science still has in some parts of the world. Add to that the 112-pound megafight between Koki Kameda and titleholder Daisuke Naito on Nov. 29, which may qualify as the most mega of any fight in any country in the last 20 years. Going into the fight, it had it all the makings of the classic grudge match; a controversial, foul-filled fight between Kameda’s brother, Daiki, and Naito, which ended up with Daiki suspended for a year. Kameda reportedly told his brother to use his elbows on Naito! It’s not clear what Naito may have done to engender this wrath (other than Kameda despising Naito having the flattest nose on earth), but it certainly didn’t translate to a great fight. Kameda moved very well, landing his punches everywhere on a confused Naito, who just couldn’t generate the offense that would have made this one special. While there were some good exchanges, there wasn’t much doubt at the end of the fight, both as to the winner and who was the most arrogant Japanese guy since Boleo Yeung in Bloodsport (who we all know isn’t really Japanese, anyway). Kameda might be a big star in Japan, but he shows an incredible lack of class during fights that would make Floyd Mayweather, Jr. proud, including a refusal to touch gloves or even acknowledge Naito and his effort after the fight. Since this fight did over a 50 share (yes, that means over 50 percent of Japanese TV’s that were on!), let’s hope the next Battle For Japan lives up to its billing.

4. Paul Williams finally meets his match

Forget Carlos Quintana when talking about Paul Williams; that was clearly an off night for “The Punisher”. Other than that, the man has beaten down Antonio Margarito (likely with his loaded gloves), Winky Wright, Verno Phillips and Quintana in a rematch. Well, last Saturday night, he finally found a worthy opponent that he couldn’t just walk over, that in Spain’s Sergio Martinez. While it was obvious that these were the two best jr. middleweights in the world (although the fight was fought above 154), no one could have expected the slugfest that resulted. Williams was not only knocked down in the first round, but actually got rocked a couple of times, as Martinez displayed excellent use of angles in getting to his 6’2” opponent. What this fight also showed was that Williams is more than up to facing adversity, as he gave it right back to the Spaniard, tiring Martinez out late in the fight as Williams came back from a couple of bad cuts. Ultimately, while Williams got the decision, it could have gone either way (throw out the fact that Pierre Benoist had an awful 119-110 scorecard he apparently scored from Williams’ house in front of his family), and there now will likely be a much-anticipated rematch. With all of the ducking that fighters have been doing to Williams, it’s good that he’s now found an opponent he can truly test his greatness against. With the grueling nature of this fight, it will be interesting to see how that will change each fighter by the time they step into the ring against each other for a second time.

5. Maybe this rematch shouldn’t be made, either

Lost in the shuffle a bit during an incredibly exciting last 30 days in boxing is that Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez are going to get it on for a fourth time. And who could argue, right? These two waged three of the greatest fights that the 122-pound division (or any other division, for that matter) had ever seen, each one memorable for it’s brutality and gladiator-style action. Even the boxing press seems fairly amped up for this fight, to take place in early 2010. However, has anyone asked just how much that great trilogy has taken out of these guys? Anyone who saw Vazquez’ struggling performance against Angel Priolo in October has to wonder just what a rematch will accomplish other than shortening their careers further. If Vazquez is on the downslope of his career, a fight like this may end it; for Marquez, he has only to look to his brother Juan Manuel to see what taking care of yourself can lead to in your late 30’s – more big time fights and a longer career. Trilogies are common in boxing for a reason; they settle the debate as to who is better, and then fighters move on. Both Vazquez and Marquez are as on par with each other as you can get, a fact that won’t change if they fight a hundred times. Let’s not ruin potential intriguing fights with Juan Manuel Lopez, Chris John or Yuriorkis Gamboa by putting these guys in a fight that might beat them out of action for another sixteen months, if not permanently.

The Finito Q & A – November edition

Andre Ward seems to be making Mikkel Kessler rather unhappy here with his punches, something we're fairly sure Kessler missed when he complained about head butts and officiating afterward.

This month’s bevy of burning fistic questions, from Ward’s massive upset to Manny’s mummy-like singing performance:

Q: So after the Andre Ward’s surprising upset of Mikkel Kessler, looks like you picked the first-round winners of the Super Six tournament correctly. Are you going to gloat now, smart guy?

A: To be fair, I didn’t predict everything correctly. I said Carl Froch would knock out Andre Dirrell, and there was about as much chance of a KO in that fight as there was of Yuriorkis Gamboa defecting back to Cuba. Still, it was nice to see Ward really come through better than even I had thought possible. What a performance! Taking apart Kessler, who many considered the tournament favorite, was unexpected to say the least. Those two might still be the best in the Super Six, so maybe Kessler gets another chance at Ward eventually. Still, you have to like Ward’s win as the most impressive of the tourney so far.

Q: What about Kessler’s assertions after the fight that Ward’s headbutting and referee Jack Reiss cost him the fight? Valid, or are you going to give us one of your analogies again?

A: Analogy time! Kessler saying that the butts and refereeing cost him the fight is like saying Carl Froch’s girlfriend is hot because of her great teeth; there is some truth there, but it’s pretty low on the list of factors. The main reason Ward won was because he pounded Kessler all over the ring; sure the head butts didn’t help matters, but that didn’t determine the fight. Kessler had a bad night, while Ward had an outstanding one, simple as that.

Q: So who’s the favorite going into the second round of the Super Six?

A: It has to be Ward. As excellent as Arthur Abraham’s win over Jermain Taylor was, Taylor looks close to done. Ward beat a better fighter right now, so you have to like his momentum. However, the points lead is still Abraham’s at 3 until someone passes or ties him.

Q: That must mean that you aren’t rating Froch’s win very highly. After more than a month, are you still holding on to the notion that Dirrell won?

A: Yes! It wasn’t a huge screwjob or anything like that, but after watching the fight numerous times, I still don’t know how Froch could have won any of the first six rounds. He did nothing. That means it could have been a draw at best for him from that point with no knockdowns. I’m not going to continue screaming to the rafters on this one, but neither will I give Froch a whole lot of credit for that performance. We need to see more of the Froch that beat Taylor from this point on.

Q: Did you hear that Top Rank head Bob Arum flipped ESPN’s Dan Rafael the bird at the Pacquiao-Cotto fight for his negative comments about the undercard? What was up with that?

A: Well, all boxing fans should have flipped Arum the bird for that lame undercard. It looks like Arum couldn’t take the fact that Rafael called him to the carpet on it, and because Arum acts like a jerk about half the time, you get incidents like these. Come on, Julio Ceasar Chavez, Jr.-Troy Rowland as the co-feature for one of the biggest fights of the year? Please. Look I love Rowland, who lives about 20 minutes from my house, but the guy was just barely back after a 3-plus year layoff. He didn’t deserve to be there, and Chavez sure as hell didn’t, either. When you’re paying one of your fighters less than $50 grand (Rowland, of course) to be on the lead-in fight to a major PPV headliner, then it shouldn’t be on the card. The fact that the most talked about fight on the undercard was the Matt Korobov bout, which wasn’t even televised, should tell you something about the strength of it.

Q: Did you see that Rodel Mayol had another head butt issue in his fight against Edgar Sosa? Is this a trend, or just another coincidence?

A: This looks like a real trend, one that referees should put a stop to right away. Mayol is not intentionally butting fighters, but he is far too reckless with his head. If I were Sosa, who clearly never recovered from the butt and was actually down on the canvas for more than a minute trying to recover, I’d launch a protest to try and get a rematch. Sosa lost his 108-pound title in the fight, as well. It’s one thing when a possible style matchup caused his two fights against Ivan Calderon to be stopped due to headbutts, but it’s another thing when it’s happening every fight.

Q: So what should have been done after the butt happened?

A: A no-contest should have been ruled, simple as that. I don’t know why referees are so afraid to do this when an unintentional foul is committed. This wasn’t the same situation as with the Kendall Holt-Ricardo Torres rematch; in that fight, everything happened inside a minute, with no time to evaluate Torres properly. In this case, however, Sosa being prone on the canvas and barely able to stand the entire rest of the first round should have clued referee Roberto Ramirez in. Ramirez actually ruled the butt intentional and deducted a point; he should have taken it a step further and stopped it altogether.

Q: How in the world did Dimitri Sartison get a 168-pound title from the WBA by beating Stjepan Bozic in Germany this weekend? I thought Ward won that title from Kessler that same day!

A: That’s because the WBA (and the rest of the alphabelt soup gangs) only cares about getting money from fighters, not who represents them as champion. They have a designation called “super champion” they give to some fighters when they unify belts with another organization. The fact that Kessler had no other belts going into the Ward fight didn’t matter, they just elevated him to “super champion” anyway. And because Sartison and Bozic were dumb enough to fall for it, they paid sanctioning fees to the WBA to fight for their “regular belt”. I hope Sartison carries that baby around with pride; because only his family will think that he’s the champ and Ward isn’t.

Q: Giovani Segura now has 18 KO’s out of his 22 wins, pretty good for a jr. flyweight. Given that he still seems to be sticking around with Antonio Margarito’s former trainer, Javier Capetillo, how far is he going to go?

A: Not far enough, and that’s unfortunate. The sky should be the limit for Segura, who has some real panache and a flair for the dramatic, but as long as he’s with Capetillo, he can only go so far. He absolutely crushed Sonny Boy Jaro with a left to the body in the first round of their fight Saturday, a punch most guys his size do not have. While I totally believe that his power is legitimate, having a guy who has been caught loading gloves training you is just not smart; it casts doubt on every knockout you have. Segura, who lives in California, can’t even fight there because of Capetillo’s ban; so unless it’s against someone willing to fight him in Mexico, it’s not going to happen. He’s a young guy that probably wants to be loyal to his trainer, but it’s not worth doing that at the expense of your career.

Q: After the Cotto fight, Pacquiao gave a concert, singing for the gathered crowd with half his head bandaged. Strangest thing you’ve ever seen in boxing?

A: No, not the strangest (fan man at Holyfield-Bowe still takes the cake for me), but it’s definitely up there. Listen, I know Pac-Man can sing and wanted to give a concert at Madison Square Garden soooo bad, but who thought this was a good idea? It either shows no respect for the fact that Cotto might have seriously hurt Manny (which he came damn close to doing), or at best, assumed that after a grueling fight, he could still give some kind of great performance. No offense, but if I go see Bruce Springsteen, I sure as hell don’t want to do it after he just ran the Boston Marathon! You must want to see Pacquiao sing pretty badly to take in his show under those circumstances. He still probably looked better than Cher, though…

The Finito Five 11/19/09

Miguel Cotto looks to have gotten tattooed more than once this year, as Manny Pacquiao attempts to add another on Cotto's face. Whether he can do this to Floyd Mayweather is the question being asked by boxing fans now.

More heavyweight musings from a strawweight brain…

1. Pac-Man proves he’s worth the “Money”

It has been said more than once that the difference between a great fight and a super fight is this: A great fight is one that boxing fans look forward to, while a super fight is an event that everyone looks forward to. And given pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s awesome beat down of Miguel Cotto in their welterweight PPV headliner Saturday, the resulting showdown with Floyd Mayweather will definitely hit “super fight” status. There have been few fighters in this current generation that can carry both power and hand speed up through multiple divisions, but the Filipino dynamo seems to defy the odds more and more with each fight. Against Cotto, a true welterweight (are you listening, Floyd?), Pacquiao was too quick, too strong, and generally too imposing for Cotto, who is himself normally the ring general. While Cotto did land some good shots and displayed some incredible heart to make it to round twelve, there was no doubt from about round six on who the victor would be. Yes, perhaps referee Kenny Bayless could have let Cotto last the final round, but the Puerto Rican had already proven his toughness by that point. This was Manny’s night.

Now let the clamor for the Mayweather showdown begin. While both fighters have not actually said they want to fight the other by name, there’s too much money and legacy at stake for it not to happen. This fight would be similar to Hagler-Leonard or Toney-Jones, a true bout for the ages, one that would cement the winner’s place in boxing history forever. And with good-guy Manny versus Mayweather, the Man Everyone Loves To Hate, Bob Arum can sip margaritas and work on his tan, as little promotion as this fight will need. And unlike Mayweather-De La Hoya, these are two Hall Of Famers fighting while both are in their primes. As former referee Mills Lane would say, let’s get it on!

2. “Bad” Chad Dawson is bad only at the box office

Pity Chad Dawson. Here’s a guy who is one of the best fighters in the world, the legitimate 175-pound world champion, a family man who never gets in trouble, and a general bright spot for the city of Hartford, Connecticut. Throw in a dominating performance in his rematch against Glen Johnson ten days ago in his hometown, and he should have the world at his feet. Unfortunately, the math is just not working out right now for Dawson. Less than 5,500 fans showed up at the XL Center (capacity of 16,000), and it was not a vociferous crowd at all, many times voicing their displeasure at Dawson’s lack of killer instinct. While he did dominate Johnson, who now looks to be closer to retirement than not, Dawson played it very safe, never once looking like he was going in for the kill. That may be Dawson’s biggest problem; since stepping up to the highest level at light heavyweight, he fights more like Ghandi and less like Genghis Khan, although he has 17 knockouts in his 40-plus bouts. He’s a terrific fighter, but boxing is also the entertainment business, which is the reason fighters like Paulie Malignaggi and Cory Spinks have to be matched correctly, because they’re not killers, either. The Johnson fight was made simply because there wasn’t much clamor for Dawson fighting anyone else; Dawson simply headlining a fight card isn’t reason enough to get excited. Until he finds his inner Arturo Gatti, it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon.

3. Dawson shows that he protects himself at all times

You know how bad it really is for “Bad” Chad? While some boxers over the last decade have been known to shill themselves out for Goldenpalace.com or Bodog on their bodies, Dawson’s lack of stroke couldn’t even get him one of those unsavory gigs. Instead, he gets Condomdepot.com on his trunks! Yes, someone in the marketing department thought it was a stroke of brilliance (oh, was that pun intended?) to let the light heavyweight champion with four, yes count ‘em, four kids hawk condoms on the back of his shorts. The problem is, all those kids are completely legit and planned – what a waste! Now the real get would be to have Evander Holyfield with his nine (!) illegitimate kids to wear some Condom Depot gear at his next fight. Lord knows when Evander and his mom were eating their burritos at Taco Bell, they should have been talking condoms, not condiments.

4. David beats Goliath to the sound of heavyweight indifference

So after more or less ducking both Klitschko brothers, it was time for former cruiserweight champion David Haye to finally get his heavyweight title against seven-foot Nicolay Valuev. The problem is, it’s a bit like marrying Khloe’ Kardashian instead of Kim – although you can say you married a Kardashian, it’s not really all that impressive. Haye did do enough to beat the giant Valuev, but he didn’t turn in a particularly fantastic performance, which almost nobody does against the Russian. Valuev is so slow that anyone with enough guts and talent to work their way in will usually beat him easily; Haye definitely had enough of both to get it done. However, while he can claim he’s a heavyweight champion now, everyone knows whom he still has to beat. Boring fights like this won’t sell a lot of tickets, as evidenced by this fight being in Germany and not in Haye’s home country of England. If Haye wants to back up his bevy of trash-talk regarding the Klitschko’s, he actually needs to step in the ring with Wlad or Vitali eventually. Haye’s next mandatory for his belt is John Ruiz, who’s getting his 312th crack at a heavyweight title. At the rate boxing fans avoid Ruiz like H1N1, Haye better start getting the Klitschko fires stoked again very soon.

5. Z Gorres gets a win in life

With the deaths of Arturo Gatti, Vernon Forrest and Alexis Arguello, the bright light has been shining on some of boxing’s harshest realities lately. Luckily, we all avoided another one after Filipino 118-pounder Zeta Gorres appears to be OK after his frightening collapse two weeks ago. The scariest part, however, was that he actually won his fight over Luis Melendez, and only was in serious trouble when he was knocked down in the last 30 seconds of the fight with a left. He hit his head on the ropes, but was able to make it back up and seemed fine. Once the scores were read, he just collapsed, one of those collapses that boxing fans hope they never see, the one that signals real trouble. After being rushed to the hospital to remove pressure on his brain, he was put into a coma for 24 hours. As of this writing, he looks like he’ll recover, but his career is certainly done. It’s hard to believe that the fighter who fought Vic Darchinyan to a draw took one bad punch from a journeyman in a tune-up fight, and now he’ll never set foot in a ring again. The good thing is he will still be able to see his wife and four children, which truly is bigger than any boxing win he could have ever had.

The heavyweight dream of Tomasz Adamek should not be realized

200-pound king Tomasz Adamek may decide to try his luck at heavyweight, but pardon the general boxing fan if they're less than enthusiastic at the prospect of a future with Sultan Ibragimov and Nicolay Valuev in it.

By and large, most boxing fans can’t help but love cruiserweight titleist Tomasz Adamek. He’s the kind of fighter that has all the tools for success both in and out of the ring: An action-packed style, great heart, willingness to slug, huge Polish following, TV-friendly fights. He’s one of those fighters you almost can’t help but root for, because you know you’re going to get your money’s worth every time he steps into the ring. He’s also stepped into the ring with many of the best to boot, including wins over Steve Cunningham, O’Neil Bell, Paul Briggs and a loss to number one 175-pounder Chad Dawson in the spring of ’09.

So it was completely understandable that in front of over 17,000 screaming Polish fans on October 24, Adamek took a competitive break and fought long-faded heavyweight Andrew Golota, his countryman. The fight was a sensation throughout the country, garnering both fighters big paychecks while the event became the most-watched TV program EVER in Poland. Despite moving up in weight, Adamek performed exceptionally, knocking out Golota in round five to the cheers of the Arena Lodz crowd. Adamek had fulfilled his heavyweight dalliance, and now it was off to a rematch with Cunningham, or intriguing fights with Jean Pascal, Adrian Diaconu or Tavoris Cloud.

But not so fast. Like so many that have dabbled with boxing’s Big Boys, Adamek said after the fight that he would either stay at 200 pounds or move up to the heavyweight division permanently. While his Polish faithful might be thrilled at that prospect, you could hear boxing fans all over the globe cringe, as yet another great fighter could potentially be lost to the proverbial heavyweight boondoggle.

For every Evander Holyfield, there are countless other fighters that have wasted their time moving up to heavyweight when they could have established themselves at 175 or cruiserweight. James Toney was doing some impressive things at cruiserweight when he decided that fighting guys like Sam Peter, Hasim Rachman and Fres Oquendo were his ticket to heavyweight stardom. No offense to Toney, who will surely be in the Hall Of Fame, but he was realistically going to get as close to dethroning the Klitschko’s as he was to becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal. Instead of seeing if he could rule the cruiserweight roost as he had done at 168 so well, he immediately jumped up to heavyweight to fight Holyfield. After a win against the faded former cruiserweight king, Toney was above 200 pounds to stay (and the way Toney eats lately, his local burger joint was probably thrilled). While Toney was in some decent fights from that point on, the thrill of his last cruiserweight fight with Vassily Jirov was never close to being recaptured.

The same situation applies to Adamek here. Yes, he can make tons of money fighting European heavyweights. Yes, he can get huge TV exposure and would be a big draw at any arena, Poland or otherwise. Yes, he could handle himself by and large with those big heavyweights. But would he be a factor? Probably not. Like Toney before him, Adamek would likely struggle through the Ruslan Chagaev’s and Alexander Povetkin’s of the world, maybe winning, maybe not. He certainly won’t get through enough of them to face either Klitschko brother. Even if popularity eventually dictated that Adamek get a shot, does anyone think that he would beat Vitali or Wladamir? Adamek’s maxed-out weight for the Golota fight was still 30 pounds south of the Klitschko’s walking around weight. And unless Adamek is somehow different than most smaller fighters who’ve fought the Klitschko brothers, it sure wouldn’t make for an exciting night.

The idea here is not to begrudge Adamek if he wants to live the heavyweight dream, because it’s certainly understandable. Perhaps he would be much better than anyone thinks. It’s just that seeing him continue his thrilling dominance of the 200 pound division seems a lot more fun than watching him struggle to beat mid-level opposition in the heavyweight ranks. The heavyweight division already has its share of snoozers; it would sure be a shame if the once-exciting Thomasz Adamek contributed to that number.

The Finito Five 10/23/09

Carl Froch did a lot of chasing Andre Dirrell during the second fight of the Super Six tournament on Saturday. Although Froch got the nod, it started a debate between the boxing writers and public as to who won the fight.

More Super than the Six, it’s the Finito Five!

1. Abraham hits a three pointer to start the Super Six

Boxing fans, by and large, are used to hype surrounding fight promotions; they’re also used to the hype being greater the fight. Just about everyone, however, thought that the Super Six 168-pound tournament had a great chance of living up to the hype. Luckily for all fight fans, they turned out to be exactly right! Going into the Super Six, many figured both Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham were the two favorites. Abraham’s definitive twelfth KO of Jermain Taylor Saturday may just have moved him to the head of the Vegas board. If there’s another fighter with better late round power, he’s has yet to show himself. As a matter of fact, this fight almost mirrored Taylor’s fight with Carl Froch earlier this year; Taylor winning the early rounds, Abraham coming on late, and finally, Taylor tiring and not making it out of the last 30 seconds of the fight. Abraham connected with a crushing straight right that got through the gloves of Taylor, knocking the former middleweight champion more out than Elton John. The fact that referee Guadelupe Garcia counted at all was silly, unless the Mexican referee wanted to practice his English.

The result of all this is that with the Super Six point system, the Armenian Abraham takes a commanding lead, as he received two points for the win, and an additional point for the KO (great idea, by the way). Taylor, however, may have some hard decisions to make. This is his third brutal knockout loss is his last five fights (Froch and Kelly Pavlik), and he was found after the fight to have had a severe concussion and short-term memory loss. He was released from the hospital, but with tough fights against Andre Ward and Kessler left, it’s not like he can take a tune up fight beforehand. It’s tough to see another knockout not happening with at least one of those fights, so perhaps it’s time for Taylor to bow out, if not call it a career. It would sure be a shame to see another brutal knockout damaging permanently the only man to beat Bernard Hopkins twice.

2. Froch holds on, Dirrell holds Froch, fans & pundits hold an argument

The second Super Six fight of the night, while light on scintillating action, presented a fascinating situation the boxing universe doesn’t see that often: Boxing media and fans disagreeing. Many figured Andre Dirrell, who has been known to turn it on and off like the power company, might actually come out with a consistent effort against England’s Carl Froch, Dirrell’s biggest opponent to date. What they got was Dirrell showing flashes of brilliance, but also flashes of complete brain lock. While the Flint, Michigan native befuddled Froch with hand speed and movement, he also held the entire fight, and it was only a matter of time before referee Hector Afu deducted a point, which he eventually did. The amazing part however, was that it didn’t matter, as two judges had it 115-112 for Froch (Dirrell won the other card 114-113). Even stranger, almost all the media had Froch winning a fight in which he did almost nothing in the first eight rounds. Although punch stats were not kept, it was clear that Dirrell, although running and holding, was the only guy landing any shots. Froch did get to him later on, but it seems Dirrell was unfairly penalized for his fight strategy; boxing fans were incredulous, which led to several interesting chats and blogs arguing that Dirrell was the obvious victor despite press assertions to the contrary. Just watch the end of the fight; Froch didn’t look at all like he thought he’d won, and the hush over the pro-Froch Nottingham crowd was palpable. Many boxing writers say that crowds don’t score fights, but boxing fans know who won individual rounds. It has been written here before that Dirrell is a frustrating enigma, which he still is. But he still looked to be the better man this night, and got a big goose egg for it.

3. Ahh, but at least he’s more coherent than George Foreman

Showtime’s newly added third man on the announce team (along with “Captain Coronary” Gus Johnson and Steve Farhood), former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, has impressed with his knowledge and ability to spot trends in fights. But like any rookie, you had to know there would be a few rookie moments. He may not have thrown five interceptions like first-year New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez last Sunday, but he did manage to combine Carl Froch’s name and call him “Crotch” live during the postfight analysis. Although he corrected himself a few seconds later, I’m sure this had to bring back painful memories for Froch of being teased at school; perhaps that’s why he became a boxer, huh? Give Tarver a mulligan, but be happy he didn’t have to pronounce the names of Frankie Tucker or Shawn Pitt, two boxers of the last twenty years. Then again, this is Showtime, home of the “L” Word and the Tudors, right? I guess we’re lucky Tarver didn’t try to get it on with the ring card girl! Ahh, premium cable – it’s not just for boxing.


4. The future of the heavyweight division…

In the heavyweight era of the Klitschko’s, both of whom are in their late 30’s, the fight game has been starving for young challengers. Lately, however, most of these Next Generation of boxing big boys has turned out to be more talk than talent. Does anyone really think that Kevin Johnson, Alex Povetkin or Tony Thompson are boxing’s next wave? Ruslan Chagaev, Alexander Dimitrenko and Sam Peter had that designation at one point, as well. Yawn. Thankfully, there may be some hope on the horizon. October 10th showcased both Cuban Odlanier Solis obliterating division gatekeeper Monte Barrett on the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rogers Mtagwa undercard, plus exciting Russian puncher Denis Boytsov knocking down overmatched Jason Gavern six times in Mecklenberg, Germany. While it’s too early to tell whether these two will go the way of any of the fighters mentioned above, both have excellent power, and created exciting knockouts of their opponents. Both have hand speed and accuracy rare in a heavyweight. While Solis came in too heavy at 271 and Boytsov’s biggest opponent to date is Taras Bidenko, both these deficiencies can be rectified. And the best part? The both look to have that something special others only wish for. Now that Cris Arreola has lost his Klitschko bid, maybe one of these two will challenge down the road.

5. …and the heavyweight past that should stay that way

All right, you knew it would happen, didn’t you? Just when it was safe to talk about Solis and Boytsov and the future of the heavyweight division, boxing fans are treated to Shannon Briggs’ comeback the same weekend. Really? You mean the Shannon Briggs that couldn’t hang with Sultan “What, me, hepatitis?” Ibragimov? Since his loss to Jameel McCline back in 2002, Briggs has racked up victories against the likes of Jeff Pegues, Wade Lewis, John Sargent, Luciano Zolyone and Chris Koval. Those names might be the lineup of the next season of VH1’s Tool Academy for all most boxing fans have heard of them. Yeah, Briggs did beat Sergey Lyakhovich, who might be working in a Russian Waffle House because no one has heard from him since. Now at 37, what is Briggs going to accomplish at this point? All comebacks must be measured against beating the Klitschko’s, and if Ibragimov couldn’t come close, what makes Briggs think he would be any different? His new manager, Ivaylo Gotzev, said, “We want to see how Vitali (Klitschko) feels when he's looking at an opponent, eye to eye, who can punch harder and faster than he can." Yes, Ivaylo, so do we; that guy sure as hell isn’t Briggs, though. The only chance Briggs has of knocking either Klitschko out is if he puts some of Antonio Margarito’s plaster of Paris in his dreadlocks!